LUKANYO MNYANDA: Next attraction: Saturday Night Half-Live
Even after the appointment of a new board, various committees and task teams, the situation looks to be as bad as it has ever been at Eskom
The downsides of having two countries to call home is that you get twice the agony when things go wrong. It's probably safe to assume that I'm far from being the only South African dismayed by the latest events at Eskom. More than a year after the appointment of a new board, various committees and task teams, the situation looks as bad as it has ever been, with chunks of the country having virtually no power over the weekend. And that was preceded by the utility being granted inflation-busting tariff increases by the regulator, effectively 14% for 2019, with 8.1% in 2020 and 5.22% to come in the following two years. In the current environment of lacklustre growth and depressed consumer spending, well-run companies providing a reliable service simply do not have this kind of pricing power, and yet South Africans, in this case, are being asked to pay more for less. On top of that, Eskom is due to receive guaranteed government bailouts totalling R69bn over the next three years, possibl...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.